Introduction – what is this consultation about?
We're working with partners to redesign existing face-to-face customer focused services, to create places where residents can easily access services and get information and advice that both helps them and enables them to help others within their community. This is to help us to create and maintain resilient communities at a time of reducing public service budgets, and increasing pressure on services due to the changing demographics of the county.
Important elements of our 'Resilient Communities' approach are the creation and development of community hubs and the provision of advice, information and signposting at an early and preventative stage that supports the health and wellbeing of both individuals and communities.
In Shropshire’s market towns our vision is that traditional face-to-face services will be delivered through community enterprises that are already active within those communities. A community enterprise is the same as a social enterprise, ie an organisation trading for social purpose with any profits reinvested rather than going to shareholders. A community enterprise is based in, and provides benefits to, a particular local neighbourhood or community, and is an organisation run for the community. These enterprises are best placed to utilise their links into communities, and therefore maximise every contact that is made with them.
This work is also linked to savings, and therefore we're working to ensure that through redesign we find ways to continue to deliver high-quality services at a lower cost, but with a better overall outcome for individuals and communities.
Over the last year Shropshire Council, with key local partners including Cleobury Country Ltd, have been discussing and developing opportunities regarding new ways of delivering and improving the services currently housed at the Cleobury Country Centre. This includes the library service.
We're now seeking responses to proposals relating to the future delivery of the library service in Cleobury Mortimer. These proposals are detailed in this consultation document. We want to stress that as no formal decision has yet been made, there is also an opportunity for alternative proposals to be made. The information we receive through the consultation will be used to inform any decision making on the future delivery of the library service and the management of the library building within the Cleobury Country Centre.
The potential impact of the proposals on library users, particularly those who might be impacted more by any change, is being assessed through the completion of an equality and social inclusion impact assessment.
Background to existing services in Cleobury Mortimer
Cleobury Country Centre
The Cleobury Country Centre is located in Love Lane, and run by Cleobury Country Ltd, a social enterprise that supports and nurtures a variety of business and community development schemes in the town and surrounding area.
The Cleobury Country Centre itself provides a range of services, including an IT centre and training room, business support, meeting rooms, equipment hire for local businesses, and a venue for community groups. There are also business units and offices at the site which are let to local businesses and organisations.
Cleobury Mortimer Library
The library offers the following services:
- free membership for all
- the lending of adult books, audio books and DVDs
- a children’s library area and range of books for children
- a collection of books for teenagers
- a selection of books in large print
- regular exchange of books with other libraries
- request service - obtaining books from other libraries requested by customers
- free access to public computers for library members
- trained staff to issue and return books, answer enquiries, help people to choose books and use computers
- online services on the library website for use 24/7
- regular events such as story times, rhyme times, class visits from local schools, reading groups, author talks and social events in partnership with the Library Friends’ group.
What the consultation is for - what proposals are being made?
Two proposals are included in this consultation document, accessible via the 'Get involved' tab, together with the opportunity for you to put forward your own ideas on how the library could be delivered in the future.
Our preferred proposal for the future delivery of the library service in Cleobury Mortimer is to transfer the responsibility for its day-to-day management to Cleobury Country Ltd. This would result in the service continuing to be delivered in its current location in the Cleobury Country Centre. The Library Service would continue to provide the books, library management system and support of a librarian based in Ludlow. The library would be run under an agreed service level agreement between Shropshire Council and Cleobury Country Ltd.
The proposal includes creating a confidential customer service point with direct access to council services.
The Library Service and Cleobury Country Ltd would be jointly committed to providing all the existing library functions with opportunities to further develop services. The result for Cleobury Mortimer of these changes would be a robust library service with a secure future.
While this is our preferred option, we don't have a closed mind to other proposals or suggestions that are made through this consultation period.
The second proposal included in the consultation document is that Cleobury Mortimer Library will continue to be run by our library service with the hours that the library is staffed reduced from the current 23.5 hours per week to 19 hours per week. Self-service access would be available outside these hours when the centre is open. There would be no internal changes to the building.
We'll collate, analyse and consider the results of the survey, and use them to inform any decision making on the future delivery of the library service in Cleobury Mortimer.
This period of consultation will run from Wednesday 26 August until Wednesday 7 October 2015.
When considering these proposals, it will be helpful to bear in mind the council's vision for community hubs and the role of libraries in the future, described above, and also what the council’s statutory duties to deliver libraries are. These are listed below.
Clarification of the council’s statutory duties to deliver library services
Section 7 of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 (“the PLMA”):
Under the provisions of the PLMA, the council, as a library authority, has a statutory duty (not a discretionary power) to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons wishing to make use of it.
The PLMA does not define what is meant by “comprehensive and efficient”. However it does provide that the library authority must make facilities for borrowing books and other materials available to people who live, or work, or are undergoing full-time education in Shropshire. It also provides that in fulfilling the duty to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service, it shall in particular have regard to the desirability of:
- providing facilities for the borrowing of, and reference to, books and other printed matter, pictures, gramophone records, films and other materials in sufficient quantity and quality to meet the general requirements and any special requirement both of adults and children; and
- encouraging adults and children to make full use of the library service, providing advice as to its use, and making available such bibliographical and other information as may be required; and
- securing co-operation between the library authority and others exercising public functions within the county.
The options proposed within this document will meet this statutory duty. Other alternative proposals made as part of the consultation would also have to meet this statutory duty.
Take a look at the FAQs we've compiled for more information.